A COUPLE of years ago, my partner and I took a leading Scottish government minister out for lunch. As a former senior civil servant at the Northern Ireland Office, my other half knew the importance of ensuring adequate personal security arrangements were in place.

We booked a discreet restaurant and only revealed who our guest was to staff when we arrived. We asked for a table tucked away in the corner, distant from public view, and requested that all the tables nearby were cleared and kept empty of guests. My partner sat facing outwards, ensuring she could see the whole room all the time.

The arrangements proved to be completely unnecessary. The minister arrived not in a protected car with a police escort, but on foot.

Despite being one of the most recognisable faces in the country, he had walked unaccompanied and unprotected all the way into town from the parliament.

This, I suppose, says something rather endearing about Scotland.

Even now, it is a place where the famous, the wealthy and even the notorious tend to feel safe. There is little sense of danger.

By and large, this extends to the business community as well as to politicians - bumping into our leading corporate figures is commonplace.

Spot Sir Tom Hunter lunching in a Glasgow restaurant or Sir Tom Farmer having a coffee in Edinburgh and you won't even raise an eyebrow. Most of Scotland's wealthiest and most influential people are easy to reach, to chat to - even to put a proposal to.

It's something we should be hugely grateful for yet in a way it's surprising. The world is without doubt becoming a more dangerous place. It still seems unlikely that ideologically based terror organisations such as Al Qaeda would target Scottish business figures - though after the attack on Glasgow Airport last year we shouldn't be complacent.

Perhaps more likely are attacks by kidnappers, or other political extremists, or simply the deranged.

In any case, personal security is about far more than being snatched or shot. Protection of information is also critically important.

It's very unlikely anyone is going to be subject to a firearms attack in Scotland, but you could have to deal with someone with a grudge or animal rights extremists Craig McIntosh, Targe Chauffeurs